Living in a sympathetic state can cause lots of changes within the body. We may begin to feel stressed and out of balance. When we live on survival mode we lose the opportunity to rest and play. In my work I have been exploring my personal relationships with root and thorn medicine when I feel overwhelmed and anxious. Bringing in the sacred elements of earth and water I turn to grounding medicine. As I ground my physical body and call my spirit back into my body I turn to the thorns to protect my heart and spirit.

Medicine Making We will explore different medicine making with different roots, I have envisioned teas, syrups and possibly adding them to our thorn essences.

Mama Maiz Blanca Diaz

Mama Maiz Blanca Estela Diaz the visionary of Mama Maiz. They serve their community as an herbalist, traditional birth guardian, teacher, gardener, activist and earth warrior in the city of Long Beach, CA. They have been studying herbal medicine for many years now, rooted in ancestral medicine Blanca has been mentored by elders in the healing rituals of curanderismo. This is where they found deep healing for themselves. Through this healing Blanca found herbal mentors and teachers, studying Western Herbalism for 7 years finding a beautiful balance between the two in their work. Much of their work focuses on healing trauma, expanding understanding of how historical trauma affects the body and sharing traditional rituals for self care and resilience. ​

Liana Maria

Instagram: @lianamariaaa first generation Dominican / American Cancer Sun / Pisces RisingShe / theyLiana is a folk herbalist, artist, empath and youth educator based in Baltimore, MD. Liana believes in the reclamation of Power through feeding, healing and educating. By re-experiencing our connection to the Earth and Nature’s cycles, we spark the journey of remembering our intuition as well as our collective power. By feeling and understanding our roots, both ancestrally and historically, we are able to grow with humility, joy and grace.

Liana began their journey with plants as a child, planting green onions and climbing in the backyard oleander bushes every chance they got. Since then they have learned from plants deeply through experience, observation, story-listening and research. After living semi-nomadically for 5 years, Liana settled in Baltimore where they have lived with their partner since 2014. In 2016, Liana completed Centro Ashe’s Grassroots Herbal Apprenticeship where their knowledge and confidence as an herbalist blossomed. Now they focus on respectfully bringing earth-based skills and knowledge to their community through educational workshops, handmade herbal remedies and land stewardship. Liana takes an asset-based, trauma-informed, eclectic approach to their work and focuses on using locally abundant plants.